The Pain
by phantomsbluewolf
Summary: Dodger, a wolf with mysterious origins, must find his way in the world while guiding a human girl to safety and away from the Shadowkeepers.


**The Pain**

**Please note- This story was made for enjoyment. And if you did not enjoy it please find something worth your time rather than bitch at me about it.**

_I have to find shelter before it kills me._

She was once an ordinary girl until she rescued and rehabilitated the wolf. the wolf, who had needed her so badly and had to go through so much just to be able to even trust her enough to let her look at him.

Well, he wasn't ordinary.

_This poison inside me...._

The fateful day they had met at the Wolf Centre of Sanctuaries. The danger he brought with him.

_Before it reaches my heart...._

**Chapter 1**

It was a beautiful day at the den. Lifting his nose to the wind, Dodger scented for danger. There wasn't any, of course. Dodger sighed and thanked his ancestors. Dodger was a magnificent animal- grey and white with black-tipped ears and blue eyes. At the moment, he was puppysitting. The small yelps and barks behind him began to get a little urgent. He tunred around and stepped lightly on his charge's little tail.

"Now, Whitepaws, be nice." Dodger warned with a smile. Whitepaws, one of the children of the alpha, was a miscevious little red-furred, white-pawed punk of a pup.

"But, Uncle Dodger, Scruffytail was biting me too hard. If I wanna be leader one day, Joseph said I have to be meaner and stronger than anyone else." Whitepaws whined.

Dogder had to hold in his grimace of anger and mistrust. The Omega of the pack, Joseph, was always messing with the pup's minds and tried to overthrow the alpha on a weekly basis.

Scruffytail, the black pup with a strangely puffy tail, squirmed out from under his brother Whitepaws and stood up straight. "I can't help it if my teeth are better than yours." he snapped.

"NICE. NOW." Dodger ordered, and the pups shut up immediately. Everyone- even the alphas- had known that Dodger was born to be a leader. Even though he could easily have overthrown them, Dodger had no intention of becoming a leader in his life for any reason. He didn't want the stress of handling a pack.

However, when he used the alpha tone, everyone listened to him. Normally, Dodger would have been considered a rival, but since this is a fanfiction of my own creation this works my way. :)

One of the three female puppies, Mosseye, jumped out from behind a log and snapped playfully at Dodger's ears. she missed and went sailing onto the ground. She was a light brown pup with dark green eyes, and the youngest of the pups. Her sisters Ceera, a light red pup, and Flowermark, a black pup with a red mark over her eyes that resembled a daffodil, stepped out from behind their brothers and helped Mosseye up.

Dodger smiled. "Now. Who would like to hear a story?"

The puppies launched a full-scale assault on him and knocked him over, eager to hear one of their uncle's stories. Dodger was also known for his famous tales.

"Oh, please, tell us one of the Seeker tales!" begged Mosseye, for she so loved to hear talk of the greatest wolves alive.

The other pups agreed and ceased beating up their uncle. They assembled in a little pile and watched their uncle with tired but excited eyes and ears.

"All right then." Dodger loved nothing more than spending time with his family, especially the little ones.

"There was once a time, way back before Wolfkind lived in small packs, that the greatest wolf that ever lived roamed the Earth with his pack of hundreds of wolves. His name was Seeker." Dodger watched Mosseye silently whisper the words along with her uncle.

"One day, when Seeker was making sure his pack was secured from threats of illnes, dangers untold, and conflict, he noticed something. It was a great horned horse, known to us as the Unicorn, and she had a message. Seeker was surprised, for he had never actually seen a Unicorn before. She was black as night, with emerald hooved and an emerald horn. Her mane was pure, milky white as was her tail."

"She walked right up to Seeker, unafraid of the wolves that parted in order to make a path for her to follow.

'I come to deliver a message.' She said.

'Oh? And what, pray tell, might that be?' asked Seeker.

'The world is going to change soon. You and your wolves must divide into smaller packs in order to ensure your survival.' the Unicorn said.

"A great murmer went through the wolf pack.

'What does she mean, 'change'?' asked one wolf to his mate.

'Split up? But we could all die!' piped up another.

'SILENCE.' Seeker commanded, and every wolf ceased chatter at once.

"Seeker demanded to know just who exactly had sen the message. The Unicorn bowed her head and a great tear slipped down her elegant muzzle.

'I have been sent by no one. For I am the Bringer of the change.' she confessed. 'My name is-"

"Wait, Uncle Dodger, how did she know she was the Bringer?" Whitepaws interrupted. Dodger smiled.

"Sometimes you just know." he asnwered.

"Pity that they actually believe these ridiculous stories." sneered a voice that Dodger was forced to roll his eyes at.

"Be quiet, Joseph." he snarled in his commanding tone. The puppies' five little tails whapped the ground in irritation and suspense.

"Anyway... where were we? Oh yes. 'My name is Deathbringer.' the Unicorn said. Seeker was confused but kept his head. Although it would rip him apart, he knew what he had to do.

'My wolves,' he called. 'The time we all feared has come. It is time to divide ourselves into smaller packs and spread off across the Earth.'

"The wolves raised a great ruckus at this. With an earsplitting howl, Seeker silenced them and began to place the wolves into ranks.

"Alpha, Beta, and Omega were the three written ranks. The great Seeker chose with great care, because the other wolves in the packs would need perfect leaders. Seeker looked up to see whether the Unicorn was watching, but she was gone, no doubt off to warn other species.

"Well, in fact she hadn't. Deathbringer had given up her glorious Unicorn horn and magnificent body for that of a wolf's. Seeker never noticed the black wolf with white markings on her back, tail, and forehead until he saw her eyes. But, as a God, Seeker knew better than to send her away or keep her.

"Seeker sent Deathbringer to his most special pack, and to his best friend Moonstruck. Moonstruck knew that this female wolf was different than the others, and looked to Seeker for an explanation.

'This is Deathbringer. But from now on, when she is a wolf, she is to be known as Orca.' Seeker whispered.

"Moonstruck knew that her job was to protect this wolf with her life. she ushered the newely christened Orca into the middle of her pack and began to lead them away. As Seeker watched his pack leave in their newly divided families, he felt great pangs of worry and sadness chewing away at his heart. But he was proud, for, thanks to Deathbringer, he had ensured the survival of wolves and thus was not afraid to face the changing world.

"But oh, how he and his wolves would suffer. This great change was humankind. But we must not fear them, for humans are the children of wolves." Dodger finished the tale. "The Human tale is for another time. I think it is time for five little pups to rest now."

There were five groans as the pups got up and headed sleepily into the den of their birth. Seeker's tales were often shortened by Dodger because he never wanted the pups to be bored. Instead, he made it a game of telling bits and pieces of stories.

"Sleep well, my loved ones." Dodger whispered before laying down in front of the den to rest for a bit himself.

"Dodger, I wonder if you might remind me of something?" asked Joseph. Dodger sighed.

"What?"

"Well... you know how there's a semi-prophecy about the chosen wolf who would bring forth salvation for all animalkind?"

Dodger thought for a moment. "Yes..."

"Will you recite it for me?"

Dodger frowned. It was unusual for Joseph to ask for such a thing. "I suppose. The prophecy foretells the coming of a wolf who appears to the descendants of Deathbringer's packmates under mysterious circumstances. This wolf is the sole heir of Deathbringer herself, for as she was once immortal she cannot fully die.

"This wolf, when they are of age, will become haunted by horrors unimagineable and chased to the ends of the Earth until they learn of their purpose."

"Go on!" Joseph pleaded.

"There's nothing else, Joseph." Dodger said irritably.

"But- there has to be more! What is the purpose of the heir?"

"That's for the heir to find out, isn't it. Leave me alone." Dodger put his head down and closed his eyes, allowing his ears to flop lazily to the sides of his head.

"Only the heir will know..." he repeated softly to himself.


End file.
